Gregory So Kam-leung () is the former

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development heads the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Government. The Secretary is responsible for promoting commerce and the economic development of Hong Kong. The position was ...

of Hong Kong.

Education

So holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

and a double degree of Master of

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

.Press release
"CE appoints Under Secretaries" (with photos)
Government Information Service, 20 May 2008, Retrieved on 21 June 2008.

Early years

So moved to Canada at age 16, returning to Hong Kong in the 1980s. He got married and raised his family in Canada. So left Canada in the late 1990s, after working as a lawyer in Ontario, and returned to work in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. As a senior government official, So no longer has Canadian citizenship.

Career

Professional career

So is the senior partner of a solicitor's firm, member of the

Hospital Authority The Hospital Authority is a statutory body managing all the government hospitals and institutes in Hong Kong. It is under the governance of its board and is under the monitor of the Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong Government. ...

, the Council of the

Lingnan University Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance sinc ...

, and the Commission on Strategic Development.

Political career

So was the vice chairman of the

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the ...

when he was appointed as Under Secretary. He resigned as the party's vice chairman then, but still maintain his membership. Between 2000 and 2003, So served on the

Wong Tai Sin Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian () is a Chinese Taoist Deity popular in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (; c. 32 ...

District Council and the

Tsz Wan Shan Tsz Wan Shan () is a residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Located below Temple Hill, it is administratively part of Wong Tai Sin District. (Note that Temple Hill is also called ''Tsz Wan Shan'' , but Tsz Wan Shan usually refers to the ar ...

Area Committee. In 2008 he was nominated Undersecretary for the Commerce and Economic Development under the 2008

Political Appointments System The Political Appointments System is a scheme introduced in 2008 by the Hong Kong Government to reinforce its ministerial team by superseding the Principal Officials Accountability System and inserting two layers of politically appointed offic ...

, at the 'cost' of having to renounce his Canadian citizenship. "It was a tough decision. In doing so, I have also had to give up my legal practice qualification in Canada where I still have friends and relatives," he said On 28 June 2011, So was appointed to succeed

Rita Lau Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan (born 8 May 1953) is a Hong Kong former civil servant. She was appointed Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development in July 2008 after her predecessor Frederick Ma resigned due to health reasons. Coincidentally, ill-hea ...

as Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development after she resigned for health reasons in April 2011. On 6 May 2014, So's office and home received delivery of faeces after he told Hongkongers to tolerate incidents where Mainland visitors freely defecate and urinate on the streets of Hong Kong. So's comment came after a mainlander become violent to bystanders after they allowed their child to urinate in public in Hong Kong. Since receipt of the faeces delivery, So has also announced threats to the people responsible for stating their actions to be "very unwise."

Family

His brother, Kevin So Kam-wai, was sentenced to more than 6 years in jail for money laundering.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:So, Gregory Government officials of Hong Kong Carleton University alumni University of Ottawa alumni Solicitors District councillors of Wong Tai Sin District Canadian people of Hong Kong descent Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong politicians Living people 1959 births